Australia is most comfortably racist, says Daily Show presenter

Australia has been described as "comfortably racist" by popular American satirical current affairs program, The Daily Show.

John Oliver, a long-serving presenter with the series, described the country as a "a coastal paradise surrounding a rocky hell" after filming here last week, reports Mumbrella website.

In his Bugle podcast, he said: "Australia turns out to be a sensational place, albeit one of the most comfortably racist places I've ever been in. They've really settled into their intolerance like an old resentful slipper."

Oliver said he noticed that much vitriol was reserved for Australians of Lebanese origin.
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"You can say what you like about Australian racism; it is undeniably specific," he said.

"I had a couple of Australians – more than one – complain to me about all the 'Lebos' in the country, referring apparently to the Lebanese. Who the f--- is annoyed by Lebanese people?

"In a way you have to admire the attention to detail. Not just all those Arabs, but the Lebanese. That's like saying 'You know who I can't stand? Sri Lankans. Malaysians not a problem. Bangladeshis, lovely people, but Sri Lankans – I've got no time for them, Jose.'

"How many Lebanese people can there actually be in Australia? There's only just over four million of these people in f---ing Lebanon.

"The one thing Australia cannot argue is: 'There's no room here in this country', because that land is f---ing gigantic. That aside: fantastic place, can't wait to go back."

Oliver also interviewed former prime minister John Howard, describing the encounter as "an experience he didn't seem to enjoy to his maximum capacity".

His comments sparked a flurry on social media.

"John Oliver nails it," one user tweeted.

"Oh he speaks such truth," wrote another.

But another said: "John Oliver visits western Sydney and meets racist people – shocking I know."

Other tweets included: "I'm pretty sure John Oliver could find just as many racist people anywhere he went in the world" and "Where did you go in Aus? On the Bugle it sounded like you only met bogans and John Howard. No wonder you think we're racists!"

In the United States, The Daily Show attracts mostly young and well-educated viewers. Some commentators believe it is a primary source of news for these audiences, who are less likely to watch traditional news bulletins.

www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/australia-is-most-comfortably-racist-s...

I don't know if greens has seen this show, but it is a comedy and a very funny one at that.

Why is it 'racist' to criticise criminality, when it is the social commentator who notices that the criminality which is being referred to, is occurring among a certain ethnic or 'religious' group ?

It isn't, imo.







But imo, many, many social commentators [pseudo journalists] in this country are comfortably deceitful people.

And imo, they are people who are lily livered moral blancmanges, who should not be afforded the privilege of being employed in the media sector.

They are just career 'blancmanges'.

Not journalists.






In the media sector, we need more [investigative?] journalists.

And less lily livered moral blancmanges, pretending to be.

But i'm not holding my breath.

Grey wrote on Apr 16^th, 2013 at 3:09pm:



grey,

Oh i see.

is a person who criticises wrong doing and criminality.

And the fact that the wrong doing and criminality is occurring among a certain ethnic or 'religious' group is the clincher!





Well grey, one day, you and yours will 'get yours'.

And no one will come to relieve or rescue you and yours.

I don't think that you understand moral attractors, and how they work.

You do not see, that criminality should be condemned,
.....even if it is a 'racist act' to condemn such wrong doing.i
Isaiah 57:21
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.





p.s.
sorry about the formatting.            

Kat wrote on Apr 16^th, 2013 at 2:11pm:


it's my experience almost everyone is racist.

Kat wrote on Apr 16^th, 2013 at 2:11pm:


Interesting topic, this one. And I find myself agreeing with the comments above.

Has anyone else here seen the show "Dumb, Drunk and Racist", hosted by Joe Hilderbrand around the middle of last year on the ABC? As a response to the Indian student bashings that resulted in quite scathing commentary about 'racist' Australians in Indian newspapers, Hilderbrand hosted four Indians of various backgrounds around various Australian cities and towns. In this program he presented the before and after opinions of these people, and exposed them to some quite confronting situations. Their comments at the end of the programme mirrored those already expressed above.

When approaching topics such as this, it must be remembered that good-news stories don't result in much media space and that it is always easy to point out the obvious. One should also consider the fact that since Australia has become such a 'successful multicultural' society, that we are now also host to attitudes and opinions that are relatively new to our society. Old prejudices and societal mores are not necessarily extinguished by new-found citizenship.

To hope that we can achieve a truly egalitarian society in this, or any, country, is a utopian nonsense.

'Racism' is merely one of the nastier synonyms of discrimination, another is the appreciation of difference.

What we should never forget is that, in Homo Sapiens, our so-called 'civilisation' is merely a thin veneer over our limbic system.

JC Denton wrote on Apr 16^th, 2013 at 6:47pm:


Yeah, what about cosmopolitan Melbourne? Because we don't have redneck surfies, we don't have beach fights and we don't have Muslims criticising us for our women's bikinis and exposed/revealed skin. Melbourne women dress more modestly compared to Sydney women.

miketrees wrote on Apr 16^th, 2013 at 10:15pm:


That's just your opinion! And if it's a majority opinion - it's discriminatory and therefore 'racist'.

See, a lose-lose situation.